​‘Fatigued’: New details on Perry’s final hours ​

Friends star Matthew Perry had been unusually “fatigued” in the lead-up to his tragic death, it’s being reported.

The actor - best known for playing Chandler Bing on the hit sitcom - died aged 54 in an apparent drowning accident in the hot tub at his Los Angeles home on Saturday.

He had returned from his daily game of pickleball at the country club near his home in the hours shortly before he was found unresponsive by an assistant, who reportedly called 911.

According to TV presenter Billy Bush, Perry’s pickleball partner revealed that he had left the game early after complaining of tiredness.

“[Pickleball] regulated his days,” Bush posted on Instagram. “I spoke to the woman he played with this morning and every morning. She is in shock, adored Matt… she said he had been fatigued today and over the past week. A little more than usual.”

Perry was deeply invested in the sport - which is similar to tennis and table tennis - and played every day, sometimes twice.

According to the Daily Mail, friends insisted that Perry had been on “good form” recently and was committed to his sobriety.
 

Following his death, law enforcement sources told TMZ that multiple prescription drugs were located in his home.

The publication reports that there were no illegal drugs found, but several prescription drugs were discovered on the premises.

“Authorities found antidepressants, anti-anxiety drugs and a COPD drug in the house,” the publication claims.

According to the World Health Organisation, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a common lung disease causing restricted airflow and breathing problems.

The disease can be triggered by smoking, causing emphysema or chronic bronchitis.

Perry had been open about his smoking habit throughout his life.

Page Six reports that the Los Angeles County Coroner will now conduct an autopsy to determine what, if any, drugs were in the actor’s system at the time of his death.

Perry, best known for his role as Chandler Bing on Friends, died on Saturday at the age of 54.
 

The circumstances of the incident are unclear but foul play is not suspected. An official cause of death has yet to be released.

In the hours after his tragic death, a 16-second clip of the emergency dispatch was released by TMZ, which included the phrase “rescue 23” and “drowning”, although most of the audio had been censored.
 

Meanwhile, Perry’s family has released a statement after his shock death, saying they are “heartbroken” by the loss of the beloved star.

The family issued a statement on Sunday morning.

“We are heartbroken by the tragic loss of our beloved son and brother,” a spokesman told People magazine.

“Matthew brought so much joy to the world, both as an actor and a friend."

They added: “You all meant so much to him and we appreciate the tremendous outpouring of love.”

Perry, who was born in Massachusetts to an actor father and a journalist mother, is most famous for his role on Friends, in which he appeared for its entire decade-long run from 1994 until 2004.

The series also starred Courteney Cox, Jennifer Aniston, David Schwimmer, Matt LeBlanc and Lisa Kudrow.

Throughout his career, Perry also appeared in numerous other TV shows including Boys Will Be Boys, Growing Pains, Ally McBeal, The West Wing and Scrubs, as well as in blockbuster films such as The Whole Nine Yards, 17 Again, Fools Rush In and Three To Tango.
 

Perry had suffered with addiction for decades before his shock death, and shared every harrowing detail of his struggles in his 2022 memoir, Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing.

In it, Perry revealed the shocking cost of his addiction, revealing he’d spent close to $14 million on his attempts to get sober, had had 14 surgeries and nearly died – more than once – over the years.

“It is very odd to live in a world where if you died, it would shock people but surprise no one,” Perry said in his book.

His struggles became so severe that he “nearly died” at the age of 49, after his colon burst from opioid overuse.

At the time, Perry had described it as a “gastrointestinal perforation” but told People last year that he actually was in a coma for two weeks during what became a five-month stay in hospital.

He also was forced to use a colostomy bag for nine months.
 

“The doctors told my family that I had a two per cent chance to live,” Perry said.

“I was put on a thing called an ECMO machine, which does all the breathing for your heart and your lungs. And that’s called a Hail Mary. No one survives that.”

However, in an interview with People magazine last October, he was also finally optimistic about his future after getting on top of his addiction.

“I’m pretty healthy now,” he told the publication, before joking: “I’ve got to not go to the gym much more because I don’t want to only be able to play superheroes.”

While the star chose not to disclose to the publication how long he’d been sober, he explained that he’d learned to accept that mistakes were part of the journey.

“It’s important, but if you lose your sobriety, it doesn’t mean you lose all that time and education. Your sober date changes, but that’s all. As long as you were able to fight your way back without dying, you learn a lot,” Perry said, adding that his darkest times had made him stronger “in every way”.

“I’m most surprised with my resilience. The way that I can bounce back from all this torture and awfulness. Wanting to tell the story, even though it’s a little scary to tell all your secrets in a book, I didn’t leave anything out. Everything’s in there.”